Lash Out
by Kay-san
Summary: It's time Kakashi heard just what Sakura thought of his teaching methods.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and no money is being made from this fic.

KakaSaku oneshot. If the pairing bothers you, don't read. Sakura's 22 in the fic, making Kakashi 36.

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Lash Out

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Tsunade merely mentioned to Sakura that it was time to assign genin teams again and that she hated trying to pair teams to jounin. The Hokage was muttering to herself as she worked. "Now, Hatake. Who should I put with you? Not that they'll pass. They never do."

A humorless laugh from the other side of the room caused annoyed honey-colored eyes to look up. "What is it, Sakura?"

"I can't believe you're actually giving him another team."

There was a time when Sakura respected and admired the Copy nin. He was flawless in battle, precise with his movements, never let them down on missions and had a few tidbits of sage advice he would impart to them. As time wore on, she began to realize just how terrible a sensei he was. A great ninja did not equal a great teacher. And Sakura never wanted to see anyone else's potential get passed over like her potential had.

Kakashi entered the Hokage's office to find a very annoyed Godaime flanked by a scowling Sakura. _'Great. What did I do this time?' _His conscience screamed at him to run. Angry females were not his specialty, but since one of these women was the Hokage, he would have to face the music eventually.

"Hatake, it has come to my attention that you should not have another genin team."

Kakashi's visible eye widened the slightest and as he looked at the room's third occupant, he put two and two together. He wasn't able to respond as Sakura began to talk.

"You deliberately ignored Naruto and me to focus your attention on Sasuke-kun. We were never good enough for you. I was left to my own devices time and time again or you protected me. At first, I was honored that you protected me and not the boys. It was almost like I was special. It's only been recently that I realized you just thought I couldn't take care of myself and instead of, God forbid, _teach_ me something, you just saved me yourself!

"And poor, Naruto. He only wanted _you_ to teach him for the chuunin exams. But when he goes to find his beloved sensei, he's told flat out that he's been assigned some other jounin to train him since you couldn't possibly be bothered. You had Sasuke-kun to train after all. Granted you were the only one who could teach Sasuke-kun about his sharingan, but you didn't have to neglect the other two members of the team to do so.

"And what did that get you? A traitor to this village armed with your only unique jutsu. Finally someone decided _you_ weren't good enough. Did it hurt, Kakashi? Did you finally feel what Naruto and I felt for all that time?"

Before Sakura could blink, an enraged Kakashi slung her over his shoulder and teleported them to a training ground. Tsunade sighed at his antics. She wasn't concerned. If Kakashi got close enough to land a hit, that also meant he was close enough for Sakura to land a hit. He wouldn't seriously dare to hurt her. Most likely, he needed to spar to try to rescue his bruised pride.

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Sakura glared at Kakashi as he set her down in one of the training fields. "What the fuck is this?"

Kakashi flinched at her harsh language. She had never been this mad at him before. "Sakura, what is your problem?"

Sakura turned blazing emerald eyes on him and snarled. "Didn't I spell it out clearly enough for you in Tsunade-shishou's office? Did you need to hear again what an awful sensei you are? You can't be allowed to make some other person feel as useless as you made me feel! I almost gave up being a ninja because of you and your indifference towards me as a student! I would have if Tsunade-shishou hadn't taken me in as her apprentice. And now the whole village sees me as someone valuable, no thanks to you!"

Kakashi's anger mainly stemmed from the fact that she was right, and the truth hurt. Without warning, he had to block as she came charging at his face, chakra-enhanced fist raised and ready to strike. Kakashi had to hastily jump away so he could raise his forehead protector. He would definitely need his sharingan for this fight. Block, kick, block, strike, kick, strike, block, on and on it went. The two shinobi fought it out.

Finally, as exhaustion caught up to her, Sakura started to yell at him again. "Why wasn't I good enough, Kakashi? Why didn't you teach me anything? Why couldn't you try to find my strengths? Why didn't you help me?" She threw one last clumsy punch and crumpled against Kakashi in tears. "Why was I never good enough for any of you?"

And that's when it hit him. This wasn't entirely about him as a teacher. She was upset about being left behind by the whole team. Sasuke left her behind when he betrayed the village, Naruto left her behind to go train with Jiraiya and Kakashi ignored her while the other two were gone. He never even stopped by to say 'hello'. None of them seemed to care what happened to the little Cherry Blossom. Regret and shame hit Kakashi hard in the gut and he didn't know what to say.

He put his arms around Sakura and rocked slightly with her. They were both on their knees on the cold ground; she was leaning against his chest sideways, hands covering her face as she sobbed. Kakashi thought about an apology, but it seemed contrite and inadequate. "I don't know what to say, Sakura. An apology won't do, but I don't know what else to offer you. I truly am sorry. I never stopped to consider my actions."

Sakura's breathing slowed to normal as her sobs ceased and she looked up to Kakashi's mismatched eyes with her own glittering green ones. "I just wanted to feel like an equal, Kakashi. Like I mattered just as much as the boys."

Kakashi sighed, no time like the present to come clean. "You need to understand my position as well. I've told you about my former teammates, correct?" Sakura nodded and he continued. "Remember, I was taking high rank mission after high rank mission, waiting to die, welcoming death. Sandaime saw this and forced me to begin taking on genin teams. None of them made it past the bell test, since none of them understood what I was trying to teach them about teamwork. You guys were the first to pass. I didn't even _want_ a genin team. It was someone else to lose, someone else to become important to me that could be taken away. I trained Sasuke because there was no one else who could teach him what he needed to know about his sharingan. But I didn't want to get too close. Naruto got mixed in there due to his rivalry with Sasuke. To be honest, I didn't want any of you."

Sakura felt her eyes burn again and Kakashi pulled her closer. "In the beginning, Sakura. Now, I treasure each of you in your own ways. Knowing what I know now, I would have done things so much differently back then."

Sakura nodded and stood, offering Kakashi her hand. Kakashi gave her a grin. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

Sakura turned thoughtful. "It still hurts, Kakashi. But for the most part, I do forgive you."

She noticed mismatched eyes lingering on her as she straightened her clothing. "What?"

He stepped closer to her until their chests were almost touching. Sakura held her ground. After all her big talk, it would do no good to back away from him. "You are special to me, Sakura, in your own way." He bent down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips through his mask. It lingered long enough to let her know it wasn't entirely innocent and Sakura found herself pressing back.

He disappeared in a flurry of leaves and Sakura grinned, touching a hand to her lips. She formed her own set of hand seals and was swallowed by a tornado of sakura petals. She had a silver haired Copy nin to confront.

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Eh, kinda pointless. Just had an idea of Sakura giving Kakashi 'what for' for not teaching her during her genin days. Reviews would be loved! Hugs & Kisses!


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